Davemk1

Having just returned from a great day autoxing, I have a few observations.

 

My seven, on Three year old slicks and 45 degrees temps does not make for an easy run.:ack:

 

A new Z06, has anitlock brakes and 7's don't.:cry:

 

Tires make a huge difference. I now understand that just because they have not hit their wear marks, doesn't mean they haven't reached the end of their life due to heat cycles.

 

I had a co-driver for the AM runs. He Turned the same times in a raceprepared 3 series turbo. He said my tires were crap. No way should he have equaled his own times in the BMW.

 

The 7 is the most fun car to drive period. At the end of every run we were a) out of breath as I think we held our breath for the whole run each time. and b) we were laughing hysterically at the end of each run because it was so much fun.

 

Still can't understand why everyone doesn't drive a 7. Everyone that rides with me gets out saying, " I've got to get me one of these" :yesnod: Tom

I had my last event of the season yesterday and had a ball. It's rare that we can have an event here in October and despite overnight rain and cold temps (40*) in the morning the sun came out and it was a great day. It warmed to about 60* so there was at least some grip.

As for tires....... I've been running Hoosiers for a few years now and they work very well as long as they are reasonable fresh. I buy a new set for each season after struggling through using a set until the rubber is gone. You are right that the amount of rubber left is not an indicator of the status of the tire. Heat cycles and age are the real deal. In fact I find that the newer they are the better they are even if they have lots of runs. Age is the enemy. I'll bet your 3 year old tires make the car a handful.

One thing that I've found works well for me is bagging the tires when ever they are not in use. I of course bag them through the winter but I also put them in sealed bags after and event even if they will be used the following weekend. Every time you open the bags you get that new tire smell indicating that they are still gassing out. It's this gassing out and the dying that takes place that kills them over time.

My big event of the season is the NORPAC divisionals in late July and I buy a new just before then and then run them for the rest of the season and then the following spring to be replaced again before that event. I't funny how mind blowing it is when you go from the old tires with lots of rubber left to the new ones. It's worth a second or two and each season it surprises me.

It's almost ski season here and there's snow in the hills and as much as I love ski season I'll miss the car time.

Stay well.

Dave

I have a spare in a can velcroed to the inside of the boot.

Dave

If it's just chilly - say down to 35* I use the side curtains and a warm coat, hat and gloves. If it's colder than that or if it is threatening rain I use the full top on my Birkin.

I do a lot of out of town autocross events that I drive to and they always seem to let out at that time in the afternoon when there are thunderstorms forming. So I have the top with me when I get far away from home. It's saved me more than once. Hail really hurts!

My top was made locally by an auto top and seat guy and he modeled it after my stock Birkin top. I needed a new one made to deal with the tall roll bar I made. It takes a few minutes to erect if it's sunny and forever it it's raining Overall I like it and it keeps me dry but I like driving without it best.

Dave

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1762733796_DSC_3839.jpg

When looking at it from the front is the water pump pulley pretty much in the center of the motor or is it offset to the side. The early Zetecs (ZX1) have a centered pulley and the later versions are offset as I recall.

dave

Dave, where did you find the light "Spec brand alloy pressure plate" listed? I have not been able to find any. I have plans on pulling my engine this winter due to a rear main seal leak and adding the billet oil pump gears. I would like to do all at once. I need to miss a few meals to fund the project.

 

My bug converted deflector / aeroshield reduced weight as well a major drag reduction. It makes faster RPM that you notice starting in the top side of 3rd and all of 4th as well as 5th. It was a 5 hour & $50 project. Gary

I don't have the link any longer but I'm pretty sure if you Google "Spec clutch" you'll find it.

Dave

Living in Montana means cold for much of the year. I really like driving my Seven in the cold and use it routinely down into the 20's. I put on a down jacket and use the side curtains and I'm a happy camper. I love the feel of the cold air on my face and it's so quiet and crisp.

I wouldn't change a thing.

dave

Dave,

 

That is the way to go. What flywheel & crank pulley did you use, and is the engine staying cool with the undersize crank pulley? If you don't mind, where did you purchase?

 

Gary

My car runs an early Zetec and I found both the alloy flywheel and undersize pulley on eBay. The flywheel is a Fidanza and fits perfectly. The undersize pulley was also found on eBay and I honestly forget the brand but it was some company that made them for lots of different applications. It was not expensive and the quality looks very good.

I have had no overheating issues with the smaller pulley. The car tends to run cold (by the gauge at least) so I thought it would be OK. In the end I notice no difference at all. I suspect that if anything the thermostat opens a bit sooner or further but the engine runs at the same temperature.

If I were doing this over again I would have also used an alloy pressure plate. I'm using a stock Ford stamped steel thing and could have saved another 5 pounds or so with a Spec brand alloy pressure plate. But like usual I was (and still am) on a budget and the extra $500 was out of reach at the time I was doing the work. But next time the engine comes out an alloy pressure plate will go in.

I hope that helps.

dave

Hey,

I pulled a good bit of weight of my Birkin this year in the places where you get the double bang for the buck if you will. .......... rotating weight.

I installed an aluminum flywheel (10 pounds lighter than stock) and an aluminum undersize crank pulley (2 pounds lighter than the stock Ford part). So between these two thing I pulled of 12 pounds of engine speed rotating weight. So not only did it remove 12 pounds from the car but 12 pounds that needs to go from 1000 rpm's to 7000 rpms as quickly as possible. It made a huge difference in throttle response and acceleration.

I also moved from the stock Birkin wheels to a set of Team Dynamics wheels which are 3 pounds lighter each for a total savings of 12 pounds of wheel speed rotating weight. Not as good as engine speed stuff but good nonetheless.

Lastly I also ditched the stock full length 2" Birkin exhaust system and replaced it with a side exit 2.5" system. It removed another 8 pounds and freed up 10hp do to it's better breathing. It no longer runs out of steam at 500 rpms but pulls hard until it hits the limiter at 7200.

So what I've learned is take the weight off the stuff that performs a double duty of you can and get as much benefit as you can from your time and money. The responsiveness and feel of the car are greatly improved and it's a joy to drive hard and just wants to rev. Sure it will help if you put in a light battery or something like that but not as much as a light flywheel........ unless of course you spin your battery at 6000 rpms.

my 2 cents.

dave

Unfortunately the website doesn't give a total cost number. The list the deposit as being $1000 but I could not find a total anywhere.

I asked a stunningly beautiful woman who was shinning her Ferrari the awkward "how much does this cost?" question and she said her husband cut the checks but she thought it was about $2500 per person.

I could see doing that as a once in a lifetime vacation thing. The catch might be that they only allow cars from 1971 or before and my 1999 Birkin certainly is not. I don't know if they consider the replica thing as valid or not. It appeared that all the cars there were non-replicas (including the alloy bodied Cobra) but I'm not the expert.

I only saw the absolute beginning of the event but it had a very nice relaxed feel and folks weren't too anal about your getting too close the cars. It looked like fun.

dave

I don't know much (enough) about it but it really looks like fun. It starts here in Bozeman and heads North to northern Montana and through Glacier park and then back down to Bozeman. It's 5 days of driving and staying at top notch places with 5 star food and is a fund raiser for charity.

They gathered this afternoon at the Bozeman Hilton and they leave tomorrow. I had to drive over in my Birkin and take a look.

The ironic thing to me was that I pulled up in the Birkin and parked a bit away from the "fancy" cars. I got out of my car and the owner of an Iso Grifo went over to my car and started checking it out. A few minutes later he was still there so I went and lightly teased him saying that with all this exotica he was looking at my Birkin?

He said I had the coolest car there and he hoped I was going on the rally so we might swap cars for a leg of the drive. Very nice.

Here's a few photos of my two favorites from today.

I'm toying with the idea of doing it next year in my Seven. That would be good fun.

Dave

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/339526908_DSC_0727.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1873946595_DSC_0732.jpg

ok guys... i'm having a major dilemma on what to do from this point. i've come up with an idea.. i was thinking about buying dougs westfield and swapping the motor to the 1.8 and do a turbo though flyin' miatas.. and produce 240rwhp... and have quite an aweseom car.. but i'm not fond of orange so i would have to spend some money on carbon fibre to work on getting the look i want. and i think in the 30k range i could be set up for what i'm lookig for.

but if i wait until next spring i will be in a better financial position. and i could go ahead and order what i want new. and have it exactly to the specs i'm looking for. and really have the dream track car i'm looking for. whether thats a new westfield caterham wcm or even ariel atom. and i'll have it built just like i like. its tough because i having to wait it out is not something i'm good at. but i feel like i might be able to get what i want instead of trying to make something else into what i'm looking for. anyways . you guys have been so helpful.. i just wanted to bounce that around. thanks !

 

brad

My two cents -

Buy it and drive the crap out of it and see what you want to change. Make the changes over the winter and bring out the new improved version come spring. Instant gratification and long term fun.

dave

Just a nice shot of my Birkin in a high speed slalom in Helena MT.

That's all I got.

Dave

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/784047572_IMG_1582.jpg

As much fun as the real high HP cars might be I hope folks don't get the feeling that one needs big HP to have fun or to be competitive in motor-sport. I drive a Birkin with a pretty stock Zetec that is putting out 136 hp at the wheels. Small numbers I know.

At the same time it's a ball as the power is so controllable and easy to modulate. Yesterday I did an autocross event in Helena with a very open course. The vast majority of the course was in 3rd gear with my foot to the floor. There were 75 mph lane changes and slaloms and a top speed of more than 80mph. Mine was the quickest street car there and the only thing that beat it was a F-Mod Red Devil. Also there was a very good driver in a hopped up ZO6 on R compound tires that I managed to put over 3 seconds on on a roughly 80 second course. His 500+ hp did a great job of letting him lay down some serious black streaks but in the end proved slower than my little low HP car despite his HP/weight ratio being much better than mine.

I say it's all good and whatever makes you happy you should do. If you want 500 hp in a car why not. But you don't NEED that much power to get the job done and in some cases the HP can make it more difficult to get the most out of a car. One can have too much of a good thing IMO.

Have fun,

dave

38"

maybe not.

Dave

 

Could you post the website? (off-topic maybe?) thnx

www.kirkframeworks.com

dave

Hey there,

The pleasure was all mine with your visit. The ride with Joe was great and hanging and talking for a bit with others that understand the Seven thing was really fun too.

You all are welcome anytime.

dave

So my Birkin finally got some new kicks (wheels to us old folks). I previously had the stock Birkin wheels which are silly heavy and in my case not so round. So I got these new wheels from Good-Win racing. They sell Miata stuff and had the magic combo of 15 x 7 with a 30mm backspace and at a very reasonable price. With lightweight and round wheels mounted it's uncommonly smooth now.

I took this photo this evening as the light was so sweet and had to share.

All the best,

Dave

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1529439625_DSC_0141.jpg

 

Dave,

 

What is the setup under the nose of your 7. Looks like some sort of air scoop with a vent but it is flat.

Just woundering.

It's my very simple and a bit crude front splitter. It's made from 1/8" ABS sheet. There is a vent in the front face of it that leads to a hose that runs back and pushes air into the bottom of the foot box to help keep my feet from getting cooked............ it works pretty well with a nice flow of air.

dave

I just recently put new wheels on my Birkin............ it sure is nice having wheels that are actually round. Crazy I know. I'm running 215/45's in the rear and 195/50's up front and they fill the fenders pretty well.

I got them from Good-Win Racing and they are Team Dynamics wheels meant for a Miata. They are 15 x 7 with a 30mm backspace. They are fairly light at 12 or so pounds and they are pretty cheap.

The center bore to fit the Spec Miata is too small for the Birkin (needs 60.1mm front on my car) so Good-Win had them bored out for me for $10 a wheel and he did a nice job.

So there are aren't too many 30mm BS wheels out there but there are a few.

Dave

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/906589361_DSC_9996.jpg

I have the T1R on my Birkin for street use. They are very good even in heavy rain and the traction in the dry is fine. Not anything like a R compound tire or a slick by any means but fine for the street. They are pretty quiet and it seems like they will never wear out.

I autocross on slicks and just wanted a smooth quiet tire that handled rain well for those long drives home after an event and the inevitable afternoon thunderstorm.

Dave

That's good............ with all those guns out there we are bound to be safer and have less risk of gun related violence.

or maybe not.

dave

We autocross at a large high school lot. The course blocks access to the library since we use all the space we can. One day, with a car on course a soccer mom drove her minivan around the barriers entering the course from the opposite side of the lot and began weaving her way across the course toward the library. We red flagged the driver and got him stopped in time, and a quick interview with the Mensa representative in the van revealed that she didn't want to have to walk 100yds to the library to return her book.

 

I'll see that and raise you one -

Two years ago at a local event at our Ice Garden (skating rink with large parking area) everything was going just fine and I was working the course. I looked over and saw and old Chevy Nova slowly and calmly drive over the cones blocking off the lot and through the yellow caution tape breaking it and onto the course. The racer was flagged and came to a stop no where near the Nova. I walked over to the car and there was an older woman driving and she seemed absolutely clueless that she had driven over cones and through the ribbon to get where she was. I was speaking with her when she started rolling away from me. I yelled for her to stop (she was about to drive up a curb). When I finally was able to ask what she was trying to do she answered "park". Poor old woman was scared to death of me. Sad really.

The best fun part of the scene were her license plates which read "SUPRNOVA".

dave

I've been flagged off the Woody Creek Raceway in Aspen twice for deer on the track.

 

Now we know "where the deer and the antelope play Russian Roulette" - :flag:

 

Skip

More like this.

dave

So I was in Helena MT yesterday for an event at the Fire Training Facility. I've posted photos of this place before........it's huge. Well the racing is going well but then a call comes over the radio to flag all cars to a stop NOW.

Everyone comes to a stop and most of us have no idea what caused this. The the word comes through the radio that there was an antelope walking around on the course.

I'll bet this doesn't happen in many places. We all got a huge laugh out of it.

Once we got the antelope out of the way things got running again and I'm proud to say I ended up taking FTD. A good day.

Dave

In my mind there are a number of things that could give you the effect you are seeing. I think it would be time well spent to go down the list and verify that everything is as it should be. This way you'll at least know all is well before changing tires and adding another variable.

I seriously doubt your issue has anything to do with your current tires not be scrubbed in well enough. Unless they are still new and still have mold release on them you should be good to go.

Toe

Camber

Ride height

Rake

Rear thrust angle

Rear Toe

Tire pressure

Sidewall stiffness

dave